Theatre - Jargon and Folklore. Act Two Quiz

Answer: Usher

Theatres, cinemas and concert halls employ Ushers / Usherettes as part of their Front-of-House staff. You'll meet them on the way into the auditorium, waiting to examine your ticket and tear off the portion retained by the venue. While a colleague continues this job, he or she is now free to offer assistance in locating your row and seat, leaving you to say "Excuse me, please," as those already seated rise to let you in. Ushers remain in the auditorium during the performance, in case of need. Floorwalkers and Bellboys have all but vanished from department stores and hotels, but be sure to tip the Cloakroom Attendant as you redeem your hat and coat prior to leaving after the performance.

Answer: A black cat

There are many theories as to why a black cat is an asset to a theatre (although thirteen of them is not desirable), but it is generally accepted that they bring good luck, as well as catching mice! If the feline member of the company is content to watch from the wings or auditorium, all will be well.

But woe betide any production if he or she crosses the stage. From Elizabethan times, it was believed that peacock feathers had evil eyes, and tales of collapsing sets and other mishaps abound where they've been brought into the theatre. Bibles are deemed unlucky and substituted with other volumes within the cover or jacket of the Good Book onstage.

A wise director will stop proceedings before the last line at rehearsals, unless at least one person forms an audience.

Answer: Onstage

To come close to tormentors and teasers, you would have to be treading the boards and be onstage, perhaps as part of a tour (several theatres run these) or by invitation from a member of the cast or crew. On proscenium stages, narrow flats stand directly behind - and sometimes also at right angles to - the arch. Running the length of the arch and linking the vertical flats is another solid piece.

These are the tormentors and teasers respectively, so called because they prevent you from glimpsing into the magical world behind the scenes, as well as masking lighting, etc.

When made of cloth, such means of concealment are known as legs and borders. In most instances, they are black, in order to absorb light, and pose as little distraction as possible to the action onstage.

Answer: Orchestra Pit

Usually in front of the stage but slightly lower than the audience, the orchestra pit can often be turned into additional seating or an apron stage, if there is no live music required, or if the musicians are onstage or in the wings. Pits vary in size, and may have audio and video monitoring to relay the show to those musicians unable to see the stage.

In the days of Variety and Music Hall, musicians marked their scores with arrows pointing upward, to indicate when to catch the "best" view of the chorus girls! Anyone playing for shows involving physical gags should be on their guard, though, as bits of custard pie, or water squirted from a flower, may find their way into the pit.

The motto here is; if this bothers you, don't work the show!

Answer: The auditorium and the stage

The wall into which the traditional, curtained, proscenium arch is set, extends for some distance either side of that which is seen by the public. It forms a fire-resistant divide between the auditorium and the stage, and both the safety curtain, lowered to fill the proscenium arch, and the pass door or doors, set into the wall outside the arch, must also have this quality. Where the stage direction calls for action to take place in the auditorium itself, performers often use the pass door as the quickest route to and from the wings

Answer: Ghost light

Every theatre worth its salt has at least one ghost, and many theatres are home to several, who must be accommodated and respected, in the hope that they do not interfere with the performance or audience. Therefore, a ghost light (also known as an Equity light, after the UK actors' union) should be placed downstage centre, to preserve the theatrical muse, as well as allowing the spirits light to perform their productions. Of course, the practical value of a ghost light is that it should prevent anyone from the living world falling off the stage or tripping over anything. Backlight is a technical term for light coming from upstage, behind scenery or actors. Cast and crew rehearse (prior to the lighting being plotted) and carry out their jobs under high-wattage working lights. During the performance, these are switched off, and small blue lights - known as "blues" - provide the necessary illumination behind the scenes.

Answer: Part-time technicians or other non-performers, engaged on an hourly basis

In addition to a theatre's permanent staff, casual labour is often brought in. They may be engaged to work Front-of-House if a show is exceptionally well attended, but the term usually applies to technicians and stagehands. As in any other form of casual employment, the number of hours worked is either agreed beforehand, or, if there is a lot to get through, added up once work is complete for the day or evening. Payment is usually in cash. For those seeking a career on the technical side of theatre, working as a casual is the best route into the business.

Answer: False

Well, it may have happened, but the superstition's roots predate the musical referred to above. The complex system of stage rigging was originally similar to that of sailing ships. Seamen would, whilst their ship was in port, often seek additional income at the local theatre, operating equipment familiar to them, but mind-boggling to a layman. One custom professional technicians shared with their maritime colleagues was to use coded whistles to signal scene changes.

A whistling actor could confuse a technician, and this may cause the wrong scenery to appear or vanish.

Although stage crews now receive cues via headsets or cue lights, the belief remains to this day, although one assumes exemptions are granted, such as for "Singin' in the Rain".

Answer: Full costume and technical rehearsal but with a piano taking the place of the band or orchestra

This is a full Dress and Technical Rehearsal, including all costume and audio / visual effects, but a solo pianist, often from the line-up that will play the show, provides the musical accompaniment. A solo piano is quieter - and cheaper! - than a full compliment of musicians, and this helps the director to concentrate on everything other than the music. Assuming all technical problems had been ironed out at the Technical Rehearsal or "Tech", and everyone has the right costume and has learned their lines and stage directions, the way is now clear for the Dress Rehearsal proper, with everyone involved.

This should be a performance from start to finish, just as if an audience were in.

Answer: No

While some auditoria have seats on just one level, usually raked from front to back to provide a good view from wherever you sit, traditional theatre seating is on at least two levels. The ground floor is called the Stalls, and above this comes the Circle, also known as the Dress Circle or Grand Circle.

At the London Palladium, this is called the Royal Circle, as the Royal Box is also on this level. The highest seats are in the Upper Circle, often referred to as the "Gods". Prices vary from the expensive centre of the Dress Circle, to the cheaper seats at the back of the Stalls or up in the steeply raked "Gods". Of course, if you have won the lottery you can always book a box for you and your party, and be separated from the hoi polloi. Entering from the street, you will be at the level of the Stalls, and must climb up richly carpeted stairs to the upper floors, which often have their own foyers and bars.

There are exceptions, however. The Royal Court Theatre, Bacup, Lancashire UK is built into the side of a hill, and you access the Stalls via the one Circle (there used to be two), as the main entrance is at the top of the hill!

Answer: Musical Director

Ask a Musical Director what they do on a show, and they may well reply "Everything!" This is not so far from the truth. Not only does the MD conduct - and sometimes play in - the band, he or she also rehearses and cues the singers onstage, and is in overall charge of a production's musical content.

The MD is involved right from before the first rehearsals, although these are often delegated in the early stages of a show coming together. Though officially they are under the control of the show's Director, anyone with any sort of a problem on Musicals, Variety Shows and the like always seems to get the same advice; "See the MD."

Answer: Assumed their correct position onstage

Where a performer stands or sits onstage is an exact business. Often this involves moving from one carefully designated position to another, such as from a sofa at the back of the set (upstage) to the front of the stage (downstage), there to deliver vital lines. For the purposes of rehearsal and setting (plotting) the stage lighting, chalk or tape is used to mark the point where he or she should come to a stop.

The same applies to dancers and chorus members, as well as items of furniture or parts of a set mounted on wheels. Experienced performers soon memorise these positions like learning lines, but discreet indications are sometimes left to ensure they truly "hit the mark".

Answer: Uttered the word "Macbeth"

Be it because the large amount of swordplay in the performance is a portent for mishap, or that the very first actor to play, erm, you-know-who, died shortly before or after the production, or that the Song of the Weird Sisters is a real spell, William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" should never be mentioned by name in a theatre. If the need to refer to it at all arises, then the term "the Scottish Play" is used. Unless the careless speaker performs the above ritual, the production and everyone involved with it will, according to superstition, be beset by bad luck.

Although wearing yellow onstage (the colour worn by whoever played the Devil in religious plays long ago), rehearsing one's bows (when they haven't yet been earned), and the use of real flowers onstage (possibly because actors are poor folk and freshly dug graves provide free flora) are all no-no's amongst theatrical people, mentioning THAT play by name tops the list of don'ts.

Answer: Corpse

"Corpsing" is very rare, but there are a number of reasons why it just might happen. Perhaps an item on the set moved, or someone in the audience coughed or sneezed (or worse) during a significant piece of dialogue or a pause. Maybe a line in the script has become an in-joke that day, or the performer decides to ad lib and throws in a funny line. Laughter is infectious, and it is sometimes the case that other cast members catch the bug and, whether by accident or design, the whole company "corpses". You don't pay good money to see actors forget their lines and "dry" - or "corpse", for that matter. Such incidents form part of the rich tapestry of theatrical life. "Just as you dried in Act Two last night, that picture fell off the wall.

It completely corpsed me!" A musical term, segue (pronounced "segway") means an immediate transition from one number to the next, but is frequently used in a non-musical context. Comedians, singers and groups who "die" onstage (not literally) suffer the ultimate indignity.

Their performance receives either no reaction at all from the audience or, worse still, a hostile one peppered with booing and heckling. They frequently blame their material, the audience, the venue - in fact anyone but themselves.

Answer: Dark

Theatres go dark (although not completely, as we have seen) for varying periods and reasons. A show may have finished its run, and the next one be in preparation onstage. Or, sadly, the theatre has failed to attract a production, or is not in a position to stage one of its own for the time being. Because of the need to get bums on seats, remedial work on the building or its technical equipment is timed for changeover periods, or the one or more nights off scheduled in the production run.

The word "black" can be found several times in theatrespeak, and a piece of scenery that has reached its allotted position having been flown in is said to have reached its "dead".

A flat is a piece of vertical scenery, usually constructed of wood and canvas. All of which brings the curtain down nicely on this quiz.